


1 ½

by Tory (Ejes)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Mostly Platonic, one shots, vanqua week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-03-20 19:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18998920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejes/pseuds/Tory
Summary: Prompts for Vanqua Week 2019. There is the reality you know, where they are arch-enemies, fighting from the day they met to the day they die. But there are also realities where that rivalry might actually be something completely different....





	1. First Meeting

“Haah… Haah… Okay.. Fine… You win this time…  _ Master _ .”

“You sure improved… A lot… Since our first meeting…”

They were both panting, their keyblades laying in the dusty ground of the Keyblade graveyard. Today wasn’t the day one more would be added to the sinister collection of weapons of this world.

Vanitas scoffed, still out of breath. “Yeah. You taught me a lot, by losing so much.”

Aqua crashed on the ground, staring at the sky. “I don’t remember losing that often. Now that I think of it, you’re almost always the one giving up.”

“Because it’s obvious how much stronger I am, duh,” he replied, sitting a few feet away from her.

“Look at me, training the enemy,” she said, chuckling, wiping sweat from her forehead. “The Master would be so angry at me.”

“Good thing he doesn’t know, then.  _ My _ Master would murder me if he even knew I fought you and let you out of there alive.”

“Good thing he doesn’t know, then,” she said with a smile, and heard him chuckle in response.

This was so illegal. This would cause them so much trouble. This could completely overthrow the balance if anyone found out. A fighter of Light, training with a being of pure Darkness, every now and then, when the worlds’ safety was at stake exactly because of Darkness.

“Remember when we first met?” Aqua asked, sitting up, looking at him - which resulted in looking at her own reflection in his helmet.

“Of course. You were so full of yourself,  _ Oh, look at me, I’m a Keyblade Master and I will kick your butt _ ,” he said with a high pitched voice. “Pitiful. And in the end, the only one you ever fought in your life was Terra and you had no idea people could fight dirtily. A wonder I didn’t kill you back then.”

“Oh? Did I hit your head that hard when I defeated you back then? I don’t remember any of this happening, surely my victory damaged your memory somehow,” she said playfully. “I do remember winning back then. And the fight after that. And even the one after-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. All hail the powerful Master who defeated over and over a poor innocent child.”

“I don’t think I ever thought of you as  _ poor _ ,  _ innocent _ , or  _ child _ ,” she teased.

“Oh? Then what did you ever think of me?” He tilted his head, the way he always did when he was genuinely curious. He tried to act all high and disdainful all the time, but she had learnt how to read through him most of the time.

“Let’s see,” she started thinking, crossing her legs for a steadier posture while sitting. “I first thought of you as an enemy. I didn’t even give much thought about you. You were an obstacle I needed to take down to protect my friends.”

“An obstacle? Nice way to objectify people,  _ Master _ . Is that what they teach kids to do where you came from?”

“Then I really understood you were  _ someone _ ,” she continued, ignoring him. “That maybe you were just lost. Missguided. Manipulated by Xehanort. That maybe all you needed was to be saved, just another soul to help.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and she laughed.

“What about now, then? What am I to you?”

She bit her lip, trying to find the best way to express what she thought of him. It wasn’t that hard of a question, but she wanted to find the words that would really convey her feelings.

“You are… A worthy opponent. You don’t need to be saved, because you don’t want to be saved. You aren’t manipulated by Darkness. You chose Darkness. And now, I realise that Light or Darkness are just words. You aren’t that much of a bad person. You have wishes and dreams, just like anyone else. You have goals to reach. You are able to laugh, to have fun. And I’m sure you’re enjoying these sessions just as much as I do. I don’t know if I’d call you a friend, and once on the real battlefield we will fight on opposite sides, but you taught me a lot, and I am able to have fun and to relax when you’re around. I don’t hate you.”

He remained silent for a few seconds, before bursting into laughters.

“ _ I don’t hate you _ . That’s actually the nicest thing I’ve ever been told. I guess that was pretty spot on, to be honest. Can’t wait to practise these special moves you taught me to defeat your friends before your eyes once the day of the final showdown comes.”

She sighed, stretching. “I know you will try. But they are stronger than you think. And while I’ll be sad to see you lose, I won’t stop them, because our victory matters more than anything. But what about you, then? What could a being of pure Negativity could possibly think of me?”

She was getting back on her feet, dusting her clothes. She wasn’t really expecting him to answer. He never really entrusted his feelings to anyone.

“Well, of course I hated you at first.” She was surprised he even bothered stating the obvious. But the surprise just kept growing as he kept on talking. “You were nothing but a pebble on my way. Not really interesting, plain, boring, but I still had to get rid of you. You turned out to be one heck of a strong pebble, though. I only trained against my own Unversed, and often had to hold back because they... Because I had to. So I realised I could use you to learn. Fight you, over and over, learn every single one of your techniques, learn to counter every single one of them, in order to destroy you when I’ll have to. There was something in your eyes that I miss, I’ll give you that. Anger. Hatred. You wanted me to die, and you fought with all you had, you were ready to die if you could bring me down with you. I guess I respected that. That rage is gone, now, but I’m learning a lot with you. And, somehow, you made learning fun. Sweet, sweet irony, I’m learning from the Master I seek to destroy. But I learn more with you than with my real Master. And you don’t punish me when I fail, which is good. To quote someone I used to despise, ‘ _ I don’t hate you _ ’. I’ll still completely destroy you and all that you love, though.”

She smiled, offering her hand to help him back to his feet. He took it, and even though they now both were standing, none of them really let go.

It had begun as something really selfish on both sides. They fought again and again to learn each other’s weaknesses. To learn more about the other side. And in the end, they just started to learn more about themselves indeed. Aqua learnt that there was more to Light and Darkness than pure good and pure evil. Vanitas learnt that even a corrupted, broken, rotten heart could sometimes feel light enough to laugh and just enjoy things.

“Same time next week?” Aqua asked, a smile on her face.

“Be ready to get bodied next week,” he replied, a smile in his voice.

They finally let go of each other’s hand, turning back to collect their weapons.

One day, they would meet here for a fight only one of them would walk out of alive. But until then, they could forget about Light and Darkness, and just be two keyblade wielders training under the same sky.

And sometimes, it was all their hearts sought.


	2. Switched

Vanitas had never been the curious type. He wasn’t one to ask many questions, and he if he stumbled upon something he didn’t understand, he would usually just walk away and ignore it.

But  _ she _ was a mystery he really wanted to solve.

“So you came back once more,” he said with a blank voice. He had been sent out to explore this place called Disney Town. He didn’t like it much, too much noise, too many bright colours, it felt like living in the middle of a rainbow. Not really his aesthetic. He was close to the race circuit when he heard the familiar heels on the ground, and even without turning back, he knew what he would see.

She was there, a keyblade in hand, a smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked so empty.

“I came to fight you,” she said cheerfully, and even that sounded fake.

“I know. It’s the fourth time this month. Don’t you have anything better to do with your life?”

“The X-Blade is my only goal, you know that.” She sighed, jumping to attack - something really predictable that he dodged by a step sidewards.

“I don’t get you.” This time, he had to summon his own weapon to protect himself as she dashed towards him. “I really don’t. Why would you even want this?”

“You wouldn’t understand. You have no idea what it’s like to have only half a heart. You don’t know what it feels like to live without Darkness.”

That much was true. He didn’t know that much about her, if only that she was the product of some experiment from her master, Eraqus. He tried to suppress Darkness from her heart, to make her a pure Princess of Light. Whatever happened to the Darkness he extracted, nobody knew. But while she was only pure Light now, she still wasn’t a Princess. She wasn’t a chosen one. And for some reasons, she kept on picking fight with Vanitas any time she’d meet him, talking some nonsense about the X-Blade.

“What could be wrong with being only Light, though?” he asked as her blade grazed his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood. “Isn’t Light the good side of the heart? Why would you want the bad side of it?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she repeated, attacking again with a smile.

Vanitas had never been the curious type. He never cared about not understanding things. But the more she said he wouldn’t understand, the more eager he was to understand.

“Try me,” he scoffed, jumping back. He couldn’t really fight back, worried he’d initiate the forging process. 

“I want to be complete. The X-Blade will grant my wish.” She slashed again, and this time she hurt his arm. He winced. “But I need someone with a lot of Darkness for that.”

“Me.”

“You.  _ Ventus _ .”

Surprised, he let his guard down for a second, and paid the price for it. Her cold fingers were  around his throat now, and her empty blue eyes were locked on his golden ones. Her grip grew tighter, and the world started spinning around him. He could feel the magic wearing thin as he was about to pass out, and even without seeing his reflection, he knew what it looked like on the outside: his dark hair turning back to blonde, the gold from his eyes fading into a beautiful shade of blue. She let go of him with a joyless chuckle, and he choked on the ground for a second.

“See, I’m not the only one craving for Darkness, am I?”

“I don’t crave for Darkness,” he said, catching his breath. “But I can’t deny what’s here either.”

He used to be a regular kid, going with the name Ventus. A wonder of balance, with the exact same amount of Light and Darkness, the purest heart there was. But as time flew, Darkness started to take more and more place in his heart, eating the Light, ruining the balance. He didn’t feel like the pure boy with big blue eyes and golden locks anymore, and he used magic to alter his outlooks based on how he felt like, going as far as changing his name. But this was a story only he knew, so how could she…?

“Did you know I never cried?” she asked, pointing her weapon at him. “Did you know I never am angry? I am unable to be scared. Not once in my life have I been able to even frown. I barely even feel pain.”

“Should I feel sorry for you?” he cackled, sarcastic. “Because that sounds like quite the perfect life you have here.”

“I cannot understand when people are sad. I cannot find the words to cheer them up because I cannot relate to what they’re going through.” She tried to attack again, and he rolled to the side, feeling the throbbing pain of his wounds. “So they stopped talking to me. Because I can only feel positivity, they left me behind. And even then, I couldn’t even feel loneliness. Don’t you get it? I just want to be human, Vanitas. I want to have some friends I can cry with, I want to be angry at them, I want to feel sorry I hurt them. A life with no negativity isn’t a real life. I want my whole heart back. And for this to happen, I need the X-Blade. That’s what my Master promised me.”

She spinned, about to hit him with her keyblade, but he was ready this time. Their weapons clashed, and with a swift kick on her wrist, she let go of hers. Vanitas felt sick of her protestations, but the Light in his heart, Ventus, was moved by her words, and he let that side of him do the talking.

“There’s another way. You don’t have to forge anything, Aqua. You don’t even have to fight.”

“What do you mean?”

He smiled at her, Ventus’s pure smile, instead of Vanitas’s smirk, and took her hand.

“A heart can change.” That, he knew well. “It grows, it breaks, it grows back and stronger. Just because you don’t have Darkness right now doesn’t mean you won’t ever have some. My Master said the X-Blade would endanger everything, but there are other ways. I know a lot about Negativity. Let me show you. Let me teach you how to be human.” The tips of his hair darkened, the colour spreading to his roots. The blue from the morning sky turned back to the gold of dawn in his eyes. The innocent smile turned into a cruel smirk.

“If that’s what you wish, I’ll show you anguish.”

She started shaking, her eyes smiling for the first time since he met her. “I would like that very much.”

He chuckled, still holding her hand. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but sure. Let’s drag you down in misery. You will hate every second of it.”

She nodded with the brightest smile he’d ever seen. “I’ll look forward to it.”


	3. Merged

When Aqua opened her eyes again, she felt helpless.

“I see that Ventus is going to be completely useless… Not that I’m surprised.”

She was panting, down on one knee, staring at Vanitas. She was losing, and there was no way out of this. She was too tired to run. She was out of magic. Her HP was running low. Terra was somewhere up there fighting Master Xehanort, and Ventus was… He was…

It hurt to admit Ventus was in such a bad shape, but she could see his motionless body in the distance, behind Vanitas. She knew she would lose because no matter how much she worried about him, her body wouldn’t let her go back to her feet and run to him. His helmet was crushed, his face pale behind the shattered glass. And Vanitas would kill her before she could check on him.

“He wouldn’t believe we’d need a backup plan”, Vanitas snorted, walking slowly to her. There was no need to rush, after all. She wouldn’t go anywhere. She was too weak for that, he made sure of it. “Now,  _ Master _ , it’s time for you to lend me that Light of yours.”

“My… Don’t… No…” She could barely fight back with words. She was worn out, conscious and alive thanks to her will only, and keeping her eyes open took all the strength she had left. He kicked her and she fell face on the ground, and she could feel the taste of blood in her mouth. He kicked her once more, flipping her to her back as if she was just an inanimate object. She was fighting to stare at him. She refused to give him the satisfaction of passing out. All she could see was her own reflection in his helmet, and she wondered if he was smiling, or looking angry. What did he even look like? Was it really the best time to wonder about this? Was there any better time to wonder about this? She was about to die anyway. She didn’t like the idea of dying without seeing the face of the one taking her life. She didn’t like the idea of dying, either. She was too young to go. How old was Vanitas? If she had killed him, would he think that he was too young, too? It didn’t matter anymore. She was the one dying anyway. He was about to stab her with his keyblade. The last thing she’d ever see was that disturbing blue eye staring back at her.

* * *

 

When Vanitas opened his eyes again, he felt sick. He didn’t know what to expect from merging with someone, what having another heart inside his would feel like ; he didn’t like it.

_ What… What is this place? _

He cursed. That wasn’t part of the deal. They were supposed to forge the X-Blade, but he couldn’t see it anywhere.

_ I’m… Lonely. _

Had the old man lied? Or was Ventus really the only one? Vanitas thought he only needed to fight someone with a Light as powerful as his Darkness ; there was no one shining brighter than her. 

_ No… You’re lonely _ .

Was there any way for him to go back? He didn’t get what he wanted. Instead, he got this voice echoing in his head, a soft, gentle voice without the hate he was used to hear.

_ Is this your heart? _

He wanted to go back to Ventus. To try to merge with his, to cancel his poor choice. He wanted her out. He wanted Ventus back in.

_ Is this pain all yours? _

He wanted to go back to the one he used to be. The one he sometimes remembered. He had been foolish to merge with someone else - hadn’t his name been Ventus all along?

_ All this suffering… Is it all you can feel? _

He just wanted her to shut up. He just wanted to go back five minutes ago, to never merge with her, he wanted her to stop existing in the world, to stop existing in his heart.

_ Vanitas… I understand. _

He didn’t want her to understand.

_ You just wanted to be complete, don’t you? _

He didn’t need her to analyze him.

_ I can feel all your pain. I can feel what you feel. I can feel what you want. _

He didn’t want her to feel anything. He wanted her to feel pain, but not  _ his _ .

_ This place is crawling with unversed. They are scared. They are not attacking me. _

He wanted them to attack her. He wanted them badly to do so, but he could barely control them when they were outside his heart, let alone inside it.

_ Is it why you attacked me? So that you could pretend you were not scared? _

Why wouldn’t she shut up? Why wouldn’t his Unversed attack? Why couldn’t he even release a single one? Did being complete mean he couldn’t set them free? Did trapping her Light mean trapping his own Darkness within as well? That was troublesome ; but not as much as her voice inside his head.

_ It’s strange. I should be angry at you. But there’s so much anger around me already, it would feel pointless. I’ve never seen anyone so angry before. _

He was angry. Angry at her, mostly.

_ I’ve never met anyone so sad before. So lonely. So desperate. Your Unversed… Were they a cry for help? _

Of course they weren’t. He didn’t need help. Especially not hers.

There was something weird. It felt a bit like a pain in his chest, except it didn’t hurt. It felt warm, strange, unusual. But not bad. Which was exactly why is was weird.

_ So they do like petting! _

Was that a giggle he heard? A giggle? Inside his OWN heart? That was a huge no. And what was she doing to his Unversed?  _ Petting _ them? What did she think they were? Cute little animals?

_ There, there. I’m sure there were better options for you, but I’m all you have now. You’re not alone anymore. There’s someone by your side, now, for better or worse. So don’t be sad. You’re not alone. _

Was she even talking to him, or just to his Unversed? Was she dog-sitting inside his heart? He wanted to be disgusted, he wanted to be angry, but she was doing something weird to his Unversed, and all he could feel now was being slightly annoyed. It wasn’t who he was. He didn’t want to be soft. And he didn’t,  _ really _ didn’t, want her inside his head forever.

There was only one solution left. He had failed. There was no X-Blade. Xehanort would never let him come back to him with such a failure. Vanitas was as good as dead. So it was either death, or a life with an annoying conscience trying to teach him to be a better person. He never wanted to be better. He just wanted to be whole. 

He grabbed his weapon with his two hands, and gulped. He had come prepared to die, anyway.

_ Don’t be afraid. I’m right here. _

He turned the weapon against himself, and stabbed his own chest, in a quick, determined motion, before he could regret it.

* * *

 

When they opened their eyes again, they were both in the Keyblade Graveyard. They were both alive. And they were both shaking.

“You are… Why?”

“You freed me.”

So not only did he fail to forge the X-Blade, but he also failed to take his own life? Wasn’t his life just a succession of failures? He fell to his knees, despair invading his chest.

That warmth, again. This time, it didn’t come from inside, but from outside. She had thrown her arms around him, squeezing him gently. Was she trying to choke him? She would have to squeeze tighter. He didn’t even feel threatened by her move, but then, what was she doing, if not trying to kill him?

“It’s okay. Don’t be sad. Don’t be afraid. You are not alone anymore.”

Why? Why wasn’t he angry at her? Why did her words tightened his heart so much? Why did his vision get so blurry? All he wanted to do was to hold her tight. All he wanted to do was to put his forehead on her shoulder anymore. But that wasn’t him, that wasn’t who he was, so why did he want all of these stupid things?

“I’m here now. You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to be alone anymore. Vanitas.”

Who cared about why he wanted these stupid things? He wanted them. He wrapped his arms around her body, his helmet vanished, and he started sobbing against her. She didn’t say anything, she just held him tighter, gently rocking him.

Xehanort would kill him for failing.

Ventus would kill him for laying a hand on Aqua.

Terra would kill him for existing.

He didn’t mind. He never cared about living much anyway.

Even though she might have taught him that there were things in life that were worth living for.


	4. Alternatives

“Vanitas, there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

He was so surprised he almost dropped his glass. That was a pretty direct attack so early in the morning. Aqua was frowning, staring at him so intensely he wondered if she could read his mind straight away. He sure hoped she couldn’t.

“Well, there are many things I don’t tell you,” he tried with a smirk.

“Like what? You know you can tell me anything.”

“Well, like… This morning, I put my left foot on the floor before my right one. My face was covered with pillow marks, and I obviously drooled in my sleep. Ah, I decided to wear bright red boxer briefs, too. Wow, you’re right, I feel much better now that I told you all that, I shouldn’t have kept this to myself.”

“Hey, stop messing with her.” Terra gently slapped the back of Vanitas’s head with a laugh. “Let her worry for you.”

Vanitas looked at him, then at Aqua. Ven was still asleep. Of course he was. You’d never see him before the sun was set high up in the sky.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Nothing to worry about, Aqua. I’m fine.”

Truth was, he wasn’t fine. He never really felt _fine_ , but he hated the idea of looking so emo and he hid these feelings deep down, using sarcasm as a mask to protect himself.

He excused himself and went back to his room in a hurry, that very familiar feeling in his chest. He had to make it in time.

He had barely closed the door behind him that the nausea attacked once more, painfully, and before he knew it, a strange creature with bright red eyes was staring at him. He summoned his weapon and destroyed it right away, clenching his jaw as the pain rushed through his body.

Creating these monsters was painful, like a piece of his soul being torn apart, and yet destroying them so that they would come back to him was just equally painful.

This was what he never told Aqua. This was what he’d never tell her. He had never been fine, but things were getting worse lately. It had been two years now since Master Eraqus saved both Ven and Van from Xehanort, right after Vanitas was born. Xehanort wanted to create some sort of weapon with them. Eraqus took them away to save them. Neither Ven nor Van remembered anything that had happened before that. And the fact that Vanitas was Ventus’s dark side was a secret well kept between Eraqus and Vanitas. This was exactly why the Master never fully trusted him, even though he kept a facade for the sake of his other students. Terra and Aqua welcomed they both as little brothers, and even though Terra and Vanitas bickered a lot, it still felt like a family and Vanitas had been able to shove down all these dark thoughts that clouded his heart.

But every day made it harder to hide it. He summoned his first monster two months ago in the middle of a nightmare. Destroying it made him sick for a week. And since then, more and more monsters kept showing, kept being destroyed, kept hurting him. He hated that, he hated them, he hated himself. Why couldn’t he be normal? Why couldn’t he be all sunshines and rainbows like Ven, dreams and hopes like Terra, love and trust like Aqua? Why did he fear of being left behind everytime?

“Vanitas. Vanitas, it’s okay, I’m here.”

How come he had not even noticed she was there? When did she open his door? When did she step into his room? When did she wrap her arms around him?

He was cold, he was in pain, he was scared. He felt trapped in a bubble of agony where no one could ever reach him. He was different, he knew that, and he knew they wouldn’t understand. So why did she make so much efforts to try to?

“Talk to me, please. Let me know what is wrong. Let me help.”

Her soft voice was like a needle trying to pop his bubble. A ray of light trying to reach the depths of his pain. She was in danger here. If he let his emotions flow like that, more monsters would show up, and they would harm her.

More monsters would show up, and she’d understand she was hugging the worst of them all. She would reject him, hate him, fear him. She would throw him out. She would be so disappointed, all her truth in him shattered into pieces. He could almost hear her voice, sad, soft, broken. _How could you lie to us all for so long? To me? Go away…. you freak._

He clinged tighter to her, sobbing loudly. He didn’t want to hurt her. Out of all people… Not her.

Another voice spoke in his mind, an old, raspy voice that he knew too well and had tried to ignore for so long. _You know what to do. You know there’s only one path for you. Stop repressing it and the pain will go away. It’s about time you embrace the Darkness, don’t you think?_

All he wanted to embrace right now was Aqua.

But the voice was right.

Perhaps it was time to leave. To embrace his fate. To follow the path he was supposed to.

Maybe Darkness was his only solution.

“I’m here, Vanitas. I’m here.”

He hugged her as tight as he could. He hated his only solution.


	5. Salvation

“You’ve been that way before,” he mused, and she pretended to ignore him, even though she tried another path.

“That way too.”

She sighed, sitting on the floor, burrowing her face into her hands.

“Just face it, Aqua. You’ve been there for months. Years, perhaps. You tried every path there was in this bloody place. Several times, if I may say. It might be time to give up. There is no way out the Realm of Darkness.”

“There is one, and I will find it.”

There was a fiery determination in her eyes when she looked back at him, and he crossed his arms.

“Why do you even bother trying?”

She clenched her fists and jumped back to her feet. Before he knew it, she had grabbed him by the shoulder.

“And why wouldn’t I? I want to leave this place. I want to see the sun and the sky and the world. Why do I bother? Because I won’t go down giving up. Don’t you want to feel fresh air on your skin, even once more?”

Truth was, he had almost given up himself a long time ago. He had woken up alone in this dark and scary place, with no distraction, only danger. He had been bored, he had been lonely. He couldn’t create Unversed, as if the whole place was telling him that his Negativity was child’s play next to what this world could offer. ‘You thought you knew anguish? Let me show you what it really is’, the wind whispered to him.

Oh, he had been  _ this _ close to just giving up. There was nothing for him out there anyway, so even if he got out, what then? He had been  _ this _ close to just curl into a ball and wait for his end to finally come. He was a coward, always had been, and he couldn’t turn his weapon on himself, but if Heartless wanted to take a bite and consume him entirely, he wouldn’t have fought back.

And then, one day, one of these long days when death wouldn’t come, he heard her voice. She was fighting a shadow looking just like her, telling her to give up, and she yelled that she wouldn’t, that she would fight until the end. His life down here had been only darkness, and suddenly, there she was, an unexpected light lighting his path. He used to hate and despise her, but after being alone for so long, any life form was more than welcome. He pretended to stick with her because he was bored, because he could torment her forever, but the truth was he wanted to believe in her dreams. He wanted her to be able to see the sky and the sea and the people she loved. There was nothing for him out there, but there was something for her, that much he was sure. He kept repeating he hated her, but he wasn’t so sure anymore, these days they’d fight together, these nights they’d hold hands to remember what human touch felt like, these morning he’d worry not to see her around, these evenings she’d come with bright eyes saying she found a new path to explore.

He pretended he hated her, and she pretended she hated him, but he could see she was checking if he was alright from the corner of her eyes, gathering potions if he got hurt, staying awake so that he could sleep at peace.

They fought, they bickered, they sometimes spent days without talking to each other, but they would always go back to each other. From a foe, she had slowly turned into the only light he could see in the Realm of Darkness, and he would be her shadow.

Despite how futile this seemed, they both shared the same dream, and every step brought them closer to it. They were looking for salvation.

They were looking for a way to get her out of there.  


	6. Inversed

She woke up to the squeaking of one of these weird creatures. Her first reflex when she saw it was to summon her weapon, but something stopped her.

What was that? If she didn’t know any better, she’d say it was an Unversed ; but it was the first time she saw one like that. It looked like a tiny bird, all white with light blue feet, and pink eyes. All the Unversed she knew had red eyes and dark colours. What exactly was this thing, and why was it staring at her from this tree?

Tired and slightly injured from her visit in this world, and from destroying so many Heartless, the new abomination spreading through the worlds, she had decided to take a nap under the shade of the trees - the wind was blowing nicely, carrying the fragrance of a flower field nearby. This place was perfect for a nap.

But now, she was really concerned about the tiny creature staring at her. It still gave off an Unversed feeling that put her uneasy - but if it didn’t attack her, she wouldn’t attack either.

The bird was joined by another, and then by a third one. They didn’t look unfriendly. She slowly got back to her feet, stretching. It didn’t scare them away. She smiled at them.

“Why, hello there. I’ve never met birds like you before.”

One of them chirped, and it sounded like a giggle. It was communicative, and she chuckled too.

Something moved in the bushes behind her. She tensed, ready to fight if needed ; but it was another curious creature.

It looked somewhere between a fawn and a cat, white again, its legs a nice gradient of lilac. It purred, grazing towards her. She needed to be wary of it, but it was hard when the creature looked so graceful and beautiful. It rubbed its head against her legs, and she realised it wanted to be pet. She sighed. “Fine, fine. You’re not a dangerous one, now, are you?” She scratched it between the pointy ears, and the creature closed its pastel eyes, happy. “Aren’t you a pretty one, though?” she laughed, as the creature licked her face. “Okay, enough now, enough. I need to go home.”

But instead of letting her go, the fawn (cat?) gently bit her skirt, as if trying to drag her somewhere. The birds left the tree, flying a few feet away - the direction the other ‘animal’ was pulling her to.

“I need to go over there?” Of course, there was no answer, but they looked pretty insistent. “Fine, I’m going. Show me.”

They went further and further away into the woods. What if this was a trap? They looked pretty, that didn’t mean they weren’t deadly. And the woods clearly weren’t safe.

A branch snapped behind her, and she turned around to see a gigantic Heartless - now that looked like trouble. But before she could even summon her weapon, the birds started pecking at it, the fawn charged with its tiny antlers. They took down the Heartless faster than Aqua could ever do. Did they protect her? What were they? Where were they taking her? This time, she was really curious about them.

They walked for twenty minutes, and they destroyed all the Heartless (mostly Shadows) on their path. Aqua wondered for the hundredth time what was going on. Until they stopped.

So it  _ was _ a trap. There was no other explanation. She had been tricked, trusted creatures solely based on how they looked, and now they delivered her to their boss who would use that trust to destroy her.

… Or would he?

If they indeed landed to the very place where Vanitas was, he wasn’t facing them and didn’t even look like he noticed them. He was sitting in a flower field, which was unusual, and he was surrounded by loads of freshly picked flowers, which was unexpected. He was swearing a lot, which at least was something natural. The fawn gently pushed her towards him, and one of the birds perched on her head in silence. She carefully took a step, then another, until she was right behind his back. He was full of openings, so focused on what he was doing that he had not noticed her yet, even though she could almost touch him.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by her, finally noticing her presence, he jumped with a gasp, trying to go back to his feet but falling in a cloud of flying flowers.

“What are  _ you _ doing? Here I mean?” he snapped, trying to look angry, which wasn’t easy when your face was covered with colourful petals.

“These little ones brought me here.” So he really wasn’t aware they did. This wasn’t a trick. Instead, he just looked at the creatures and frowned.

“Them. I knew I couldn’t trust them. They are abominations.”

“They are pretty cute, I’d say,” Aqua chuckled while petting the fawn. The bird on her head chirped, while the two others landed gently on Vanitas’s shoulders.

_ With all these flowers and animals, he could join the Princesses of Heart group _ , Aqua mused, although she didn’t say it out loud.

She looked at the flowers that were on his laps. Delicate blue ones, vibrant pink ones, and subtle white ones. Their stems had been butchered, cut, torn, twisted, but the petals had been carefully preserved.

“What is it you were trying to do?” she asked, crouching next to him. He sat up, his face a bit red.

“Nothing of your concern.”

“Are these yours?” she looked at the creatures next to them. He groaned.

“Yeah. They showed up earlier, when I saw… Never mind. They’re not like my regular Unversed, I don’t know what they are. I call them Inversed. And if they’re not attacking you, then they’re useless pieces of trash.”

“Now, now, no need to be rude to them. They brought me here, protected me, in fact.”

“Like I said, useless pieces of trash.”

She picked the flowers from his lap. Somehow, some or the stems had been knotted together. She gasped. “Could it be… Were you trying to make a flower crown?”

She tried to imagine Master Xehanort with delicate flowers crowning his bald head and had to cough to hide her laughter. Vanitas flushed.

“Laugh all you want. I was actually making a funeral wreath.”

“A wreath? Whose?”

He clicked his tongue. “Saw you sleeping earlier. You looked dead. I thought it would be fun to make a wreath and put it on you. So that you’d look even deader.”

Aqua looked at the flowers again. Blue, pink, white. And from the looks of it, it was way too small for a wreath. But the perfect size for a crown.

“You mean this was… For me?”

“But as soon as I thought about making you one, these idiots showed up.” He glared at his Inversed. “I hate them.”

Aqua chuckled, ruffling his hair before realising he was supposed to be his nemesis. But instead of pushing her away, his face turned a new shade of red, and a dozen of white butterflies started flying over them, their eyes a soft pink.

“Do you want me to teach you how to make them?” What was she thinking? He was her enemy. But right now, he just looked like  _ a human _ . 

“Make what?”

“Crowns. Wreaths. Whatever you want, really. I can teach you how to braid flowers together. I’d hate to see these beautiful flowers be wasted.”

He turned his head away from her, pouting. She waited with a smile. Let him decide if his pride could take it.

Then, after a while, he finally sighed, his shoulders collapsing.

“Fine. Teach me how to make these stupid flower crowns. But once we’re done, promise me one thing.”

“What is that?”

“Fight me.”

She smiled, and he smiled back, and they spent the whole afternoon making flower crowns under the gentle protection of more and more Inversed. When night came, they fought, and when they both were too tired to keep going, they went each their home.

With a beautiful crown circling their heads.


	7. Red Wayfinder

For the first time in his life, Vanitas had learnt to look forward to something. This was the biggest secret ever, one that would cost his life if anyone found out. And yet, that was a risk he was willing to take.

His days of training with the old goat became sufferable now that he knew what would come at night.

This night, like every other night, he stepped into that place called San Fransokyo. Truth was, they changed world every week, but this one felt safer than most: there were so many people everywhere that it was really easy to blend into the crowd and disappear if they needed to.

_ They _ , that was Aqua and him. No one, not even them, would ever have believed they could feel anything but hatred for each other. And yet, after a fight he lost and a discussion she had to understand his behaviour, they started to realise that perhaps, fighting wasn’t the only way. He still enjoyed violence as much as he enjoyed quiet, he was war when she was peace. But when they were together, with no one else around, all of that didn’t matter. They would sit on a bench, under the stars, or on the highest branch of a tree, and they would talk, they would laugh, they would forget all this nonsense about keyblades and Unversed, and they would just be friends.

Sometimes, she would be really tired and just sleep with her head on his lap. Sometimes, he would feel really down and she would take his hand with a smile. They trusted each other. And sometimes, drunk by the joy of the moment, their lips would meet, tasting of forbidden things and of danger. They didn’t really mean much about this, they knew it was a luxury they couldn’t afford, but there were times when they just wanted to forget and pretend they were simply teenagers living regular life.

San Fransokyo was busy as always. Vanitas had switched his usual suit to more casual clothes, and he regretted not bringing a scarf with him. Tonight was his treat, so he’d probably bring her to a café to drink something warm. He knew how much she loved waffles, so he might get her some as well. He took his time to go to the rendezvous point, doing some window-shopping, wondering if perhaps he could get her something. She was the only person being nice to him, so he owed her that much. He finally stopped by a store, seeing a nice necklace with a star pendant, thinking it would look great on her. Probably. He didn’t know much about fashion.

His present in hand, he finally looked for the bench where they agreed to meet up. Much to his annoyance, there was already someone sitting here, a girl with gigantic glasses. She looked dumb. Everyone looked dumb to Vanitas, though, so that wasn’t much of a criteria. Decided to chase her from  _ his _ bench, he sat next to her with a gloomy face that would make anyone uneasy. But instead of leaving, she smiled at him, and starting talking in a  _ way too loud  _ voice.

“Hi, you’re Aqua’s date, aren’t you?”

“A… date?” This wasn’t a word he was familiar with. Or rather, he was familiar with it, but had no idea of the meaning in such a context. The girl grinned and rummaged through the bag next to her.

“She said I’d have to wait for you here, and give you this. She won’t be able to come today and she apologises. Well then, my job is done here, and they need me at the lab! Good night!” She jumped to her feet and basically disappeared, jumping into the first taxi she saw, leaving Vanitas with a box and an envelope, sitting in the cold on his bench.

Even though he was really curious about the tiny box, he opened the envelope first. There was a short letter in it.

“ _ Vanitas, I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it today. Something has come up and I don’t think I’ll be able to come for the next few days. Remember where we met last time in Agrabah? Let’s meet up there next week, I’ll find a way to contact you if I can’t make it either. We may have to be apart for a while, but I’ll never be far from you. With love, Aqua. _ ”

He smiled at her words. He wouldn’t admit to anyone, not even her, but he didn’t mind a bit of cheesy sometimes. He read her letter three times before taking the box.

It was closed with a pink ribbon, similar to the ones she wore. He untied it carefully, opening the box. And he almost dropped it in surprise.

Inside the box, glimmering under the city light, there was a wayfinder. Not hers. Not Terra’s. Not Ventus’s. It was bright red and looked brand new. Where her symbol was supposed to be, there was a delicate gold piece shaped like his Unversed symbol. He took it in shaking hands, and it felt warm. He could somehow feel it beating, and he realised this was probably her heartbeat.

She had left a tiny card with it, written in gold letters and a delicate handwriting, and just by reading them, and repeating them in his mind, he could feel both of their hearts beating slightly faster.

‘ _ Always by your side _ ’.


End file.
